PRESS RELEASE — BLANK THEATRE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL KICK-OFF EVENT MAY 16

THE BLANK THEATRE HOSTS LAUNCH PARTY
FOR ITS 22ND ANNUAL
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

FRIDAY, MAY 16 AT 8PM

The Blank Theatre has announced a special event, free and open to the public, on Friday, May 16 at 8pm celebrating the 22nd anniversary of its Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival, which this year will run June 5—29 at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood.

The launch activities will take place at Los Angeles Film School (Main Theatre), 6353 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. This will be an opportunity to meet and chat with YPF alums and this year’s local winners along with participating actors, directors, mentors, and producers of the upcoming Festival. Members of The Blank Theatre artistic staff will also be in attendance, and the evening will feature the debut of a mini-documentary about the Young Playwrights Festival and its history. Admission is free, but reservations are required at www.TheBlank.com.

Over the past 21 years, The Blank has produced more than 240 plays by young playwrights including 11 that have gone on to be presented on The Blank’s mainstage. Many of the plays have been nominated for LA theatre honors, including Ovation and LA Weekly Awards. Many YPF winners have gone on to successful writing careers creating TV shows, filling regional stages, teaching writing to others, and founding regional Young Playwrights Festivals.

This year’s winning plays are: NINE HOURS by Zoe Kamil, San Francisco, CA, Age 18; WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD by Alexa Derman, Westfield, NJ, Age 17; ROCK CANDY by Gabrielle Greenfield, Dallas, TX, Age 19; BAROPHOBIA by Aiyana White, Encino, CA, Age 18; THE SON ALSO RISES by Patric Verrone, Pacific Palisades, CA, Age 18; PAM by Agnes Nguyen, Anaheim, CA, Age 19; PILLOW TALK by Zoe Cheng, Cincinnati, OH, Age 17; INNOCENCE by Matt Ubl, Jacksonville, FL, Age 18; THE RUB by Max Friedlich, New York, NY, Age 19; FAIREST by Frank Garland, Seattle, WA, Age 16; THE NOT LESBIANS by Travis Amiel, Millwood, NY, Age 18; and BLACK SHEEP by Robert Gold, Valley Village, CA, Age 17.

This year’s festival is made possible by The Rosenthal Family Foundation, The Plum Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the office of City Councilman 4th District Tom LaBonge.

The Blank Theatre’s 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs June 5 — 29 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood. The performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. Each week’s program includes three plays, and admission is $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival passes, which are good for one ticket each week of the festival, are $68 for adults and $48 for students. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

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05-09-14

Press Release: Blank Theatre Chooses 2014 Young Playwrights Festival Winners

THE BLANK THEATRE’S 22ND ANNUAL
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL CHOOSES WINNERS

12 PLAYS BY THE NATION’S BRIGHTEST YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS
WILL BE PERFORMED AT THE STELLA ADLER THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD

JUNE 5 — 29, 2014

Now celebrating its 22nd Anniversary, The Blank Theatre’s Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival has chosen 12 plays by young playwrights aged 16 — 19, from seven different states. These plays will be presented by professional actors and directors in this year’s festival at The Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, June 5 — 29.

“Ever since I acted in the first Young Playwrights Festival, I have always had a special place in my heart for these extremely talented young writers,“ said Blank Artistic Producer Noah Wyle. “The issues tackled, and the depth of emotion and understanding these kids have is remarkable. I wish I knew as much as they do when I was their age!”

This year’s winning plays are: NINE HOURS by Zoe Kamil, San Francisco, CA, Age 18; WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD by Alexa Derman, Westfield, NJ, Age 17; ROCK CANDY by Gabrielle Greenfield, Dallas, TX, Age 19; BAROPHOBIA by Aiyana White, Encino, CA, Age 18; THE SON ALSO RISES by Patric Verrone, Pacific Palisades, CA, Age 18; PAM by Agnes Nguyen, Anaheim, CA, Age 19; PILLOW TALK by Zoe Cheng, Cincinnati, OH, Age 17; INNOCENCE by Matthew Ubl, Jacksonville, FL, Age 18; THE RUB by Max Friedlich, New York, NY, Age 19; FAIREST by Frank Garland, Seattle, WA, Age 16; THE NOT LESBIANS by Travis Amiel, Millwood, NY, Age 18; and BLACK SHEEP by Robert Gold, Valley Village, CA, Age 17.

This year’s winners join a prestigious club of alumni which includes 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam, who was a three-time festival winner, and Adam Cochran (a two-time winner in YPF), who was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in NYC for Outstanding Music in a Play in 2011.

A panel of theatre professionals chose from over 200 plays submitted by young writers across the nation. Winning playwrights are next assigned a mentor, and then a professional director who will help them hone their scripts for four public performances with professional actors. This year’s mentors include David Rambo (Revolution, V, CSI), Kelly Miller (South Coast Rep literary manager), Dave Holstein (Weeds, Raising Hope), Todd Milliner (executive producer, Hot in Cleveland, Grimm), Ellen Byron (Just Shoot Me, Wings), Gary Teich (Medium), Michael Jung (Disney), Kit Steinkellner (four-time YPF winner), as well as Bob Lowry, Oahn Ly, and Patrick Burleigh. This year’s directors are (in alphabetical order) Barbara Bain, Andre Barron, Darren Bousman, Nicole Dominguez, Bjorn Johnson, Ameenah Kaplan, Jack Laufer, Michael Matthews, Michael A. Shepperd, Richard Tatum, Jason Weiss, and Constance Zimmer.

Over the past 21 years, The Blank has produced more than 240 plays by young playwrights. Eleven of those plays or playwrights have gone on to be presented on The Blank’s mainstage, including Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. Additionally, many of the plays have been nominated for LA theatre awards, including an Ovation Award for Best Writing—World Premiere, and an LA Weekly Award for Best One-Act Playwriting. Other alumni playwrights are populating the nation’s theatres and sound stages with their work. Many YPF winners have gone on to successful writing careers creating TV shows, filling regional stages, teaching writing to others, and founding regional Young Playwrights Festivals.

This year’s festival is made possible by The Rosenthal Family Foundation, The Plum Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Blank Theatre’s 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival runs June 5 — 29 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood. The performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. Each week’s program includes three plays, and admission is $20 for adults and $14 for students. Festival passes, which are good for one ticket each week of the festival, are $68 for adults and $48 for students. Tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.TheBlank.com, or via phone by calling (323) 661-9827.

Announcing: Blank Theatre 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival Now Accepting Submissions

SUBMISSIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED
THE BLANK THEATRE’S
NATIONWIDE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival is now seeking submissions nationwide from playwrights 19 years of age and younger. The submission deadline is March 15, 2014. Winning plays will be presented by professional actors and directors in June, 2014 at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

Celebrating its 22nd anniversary, The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival is a nationwide competition that produces the work of twelve young writers each year. Since 1993, the festival has produced 248 plays by playwrights 19 and younger from 27 states.

Each winning play will have four performances in a weekend run. The productions are made possible in part by grants from Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Plum Foundation, The Rosenthal Family Foundation, Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission and City of Los Angeles — Office of Councilman Tom LaBonge. Hollywood’s Blank Theatre has had its work featured on MSNBC, CNN Showbiz Today, Entertainment Tonight, BBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR, in Entertainment Weekly magazine, and in the Financial Times of London.

“Every year I am amazed at the depths to which these teenagers go in their writing. They are brave, bold and uninhibited,“ said Noah Wyle (star of television’s ER and Falling Skies), Artistic Producer at The Blank. “The winners are thrilled to see their plays presented by professionals, but these professionals are often given a great gift in return: a renewed sense of artistic purpose. We learn from the playwrights as they learn from us.”

The rules for the festival competition are as follows: playwrights must be 19 years of age or younger on March 15, 2014; original plays and musicals can be any length, on any subject. Scripts must be legible and pages must be numbered and unbound. Submissions may be emailed to submissions @ youngplaywrights.com, or hard copies mailed to YPF, c/o The Blank Theatre, PO Box 1094, Los Angeles, CA, 90078 (and must be postmarked or emailed by March 15, 2014). There is a limit of three (3) plays per playwright. All plays must include a cover sheet with the play’s title, playwright’s name, date of birth, school (if any), mailing address, contact phone number, e-mail address and the play’s production history (if any).

Each playwright whose work is accepted will be assigned a mentor: professional writers who will help the youngsters hone their work for performance. Past mentors have included Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, Tony Award-nominated composer Michael John LaChiusa, writer Jeff Greenstein (Will & Grace), Irene Mecchi (writer, The Lion King, Brave), Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), television and film director Garry Marshall, among many others. The playwrights then experience the thrill of seeing their plays performed by industry professionals in fully staged productions.

Past festivals have featured well known actors such as Jerry O’Connell (Jerry Maguire), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Noah Wyle, Molly Shannon, Tiffani Thiessen (White Collar), Matthew Moy (2 Broke Girls), Tom Lenk, Nicholas Brendon, and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Megan Ward, Heather Morris and Max Adler (Glee), Josh Radnor and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother), Sherri Shepherd (The View), Kelly Lynch, Debra Messing, Parvesh Cheena (Sean Saves The World), Angel Parker (Lab Rats), Constance Zimmer (Boston Legal), Tony Award-winning actress Daisy Eagan, Emmy Award-winning actor Edward Asner, and many others.

In past years, some winning plays have gone on to have a life on The Blank’s mainstage for full-scale production. Should this happen, the playwright is treated as a full professional, from signing an option agreement to being paid royalties for his/her play. The Why, a play by 19-year-old Victor Kaufold, received a Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award nomination for ‘Best Writing – World Premiere’ as a result of The Blank’s production. Kaufold is the youngest nominee in his category in 23 years of Ovation Award history. Three-time Festival winner Stephen Karam was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and three-time winner Austin Winsberg saw his musical First Date open on Broadway in 2013.

For more information, visit the festival’s website at www.YoungPlaywrights.com or The Blank Theatre’s website at www.TheBlank.com.

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01-23-14